


Hogwarts Anthology

by doxies



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-11-17 08:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11272044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doxies/pseuds/doxies
Summary: Shenanigans always ensue where magic is involved.A collection of stories set in HP verse. Written and posted in non-chronological order. Ratings may increase as the chapters go along.ch1: home is where the heart isch2: make haste not speedch3 (3a): quidditch (of bets and blow-outs) part ich4 (3b): quidditch (pass the quaffle please) part iinew!ch5: ruminations from the snake pit





	1. home is where the heart is

_September, 2012_  

Guanlin feels sick to the stomach.

 

He’s not sure if it’s the mountains of candy Seonho had plied him before they boarded, or the fact that he gets travel sick easily. His fingers tap against the window sill to the quiet hum of the train chugging onwards to its destination. He’s restless, antsy. 

 

He watches the scenery pass him by, trying to tune out the noisy chatter of the other boys in the compartment. Seonho bumps into him twice, lacking personal space as usual, but Guanlin sits, face pressed against the glass, unmoving and silent as the train shuttles past. 

 

These meandering lakes, wide expanses of land and sky stretching for miles, hills and valleys dipping and rising -- Even these foreign trees are so different from the trees back home. It’s only been a couple of hours since he’d said his farewells to his family, his mum and dad and elder sister, but he already misses them, misses the bustling Parisian city scapes he’s known since he was born. He already longs for the comfortable claustrophobia of the four walls of his own room.

 

He’d put on a brave face at the station, scowling deeply at his sister and parents that  _ he’d be fine  _ before boarding the Hogwarts express but the fear bubbles to the surface now. Really, he didn’t  _ want  _ to go to Hogwarts. Seonho’s mother had unhelpfully regaled her own stories of her time at Hogwarts, and her tales from the Gryffindor common room and it’s loud, rambunctious atmosphere had been nothing short of  _ horrifying _ to Guanlin. But Guanlin’s never been good at making new friends; since they’ve known each other as children, Guanlin’s always relied on Seonho to break the ice. And when his parents had chosen Hogwarts over the other schools, Guanlin was more than glad to tag along behind Seonho.

 

Even now, it’s Seonho who makes conversation with the other two boys in the compartment, animatedly chatting over his stash of snacks, now splayed out in front of them in full purview and shared amongst all four hungry boys. Guanlin had opened his mouth to talk about his favorite book in an attempt to start conversation with his new companions, but then clamped up just as quickly when they give him puzzled looks. 

 

Seonho’s bubbly and easy to get along with. Guanlin’s a little odd, laughing when it’s not supposed to be funny, enjoying cool nights curled up on the couch with a good book when Seonho goes out to play quidditch or something outdoorsy. He is acutely aware of how different the two of them are and how likely it is for them to be placed apart (Apart! His head yells in a variety of voices he tries to drown out.). And then maybe Guanlin would be alone till death, dying alone in a ditch with his books and tears for days. 

 

He wants to dry heave into his shirt, or maybe cry, but the thought of doing either in public sounds awfully embarrassing to eleven year old Guanlin, so he swallows the rising tears and carelessly grabs a handful of Seonho’s every flavor beans and stuffs it in his mouth.

 

The result is cataclysmic.

 

Guanlin ends up throwing up on his feet from the taste of vomit flavoured beans, mixed with liver and peppermint and what he thinks might be earwax. Seonho throws him a look of alarm over a mouthful of corned beef sandwich. Justin Huang, who they’d met at the station, tries hard to hide his disgust with a rather undignified snort and a sympathetic look. Kim “everywhere-else is full” Samuel, laughs aloud, guffawing so hard he flops right onto Justin’s lap, much to the other boy’s dismay.

 

“Might want to call a prefect,” Samuel tries between peals of laughter, his tone somewhat wry.

 

Guanlin is  _ mortified _ , and he sniffs, eyes watering and red as he tries not to let the tears fall. Seonho nods vigorously, and Justin barrels out compartment door to yell for help.

 

A tall boy strides in moments later, a rather red-looking Justin in tow. With a flourish of his wand, he vanishes the little pool of vomit without a trace. 

 

“There, all good as new,” he turns Guanlin around with a gentle hand to inspect the damage, “First year?” 

  
Guanlin is still distraught so Seonho nods vigorously, glasses askew, swallowing hard on his mouthful of food as he struggles explain. Samuel beats him to the punch anyway, calmly regaling the unfortunate incident to the Ravenclaw prefect.

 

“Ah, tough luck kid,” the taller boy grimaces, ruffling his head, “I’ll take care of him. You three should get changed soon, we’ll be reaching in a bit.”

 

The prefect gently guides him out the compartment to wash his face. His name is Minhyun and he’s a seventh year, Guanlin learns, and he’s  _ really, really _ nice. Guanlin still feels sort of queasy in the gut, but Minhyun tells him stories of his own first year to get him to calm down. 

 

Guanlin doesn’t quite open up easily, but the elder boy’s manner is easy and his words light and everything comes spewing out in a chunkful of garbled words (English is hard, okay!), and tears. He sags when he’s done, relieved at last.

 

Minhyun laughs so hard at Guanlin’s last comment about _ Hogwart’s strict curriculum _ he nearly falls out of his seat. Minhyun tells him about charms and transfiguration, about the lovely head of house Professor BoA, and how despite having high standards of education, as long as Guanlin works hard, he’ll do well. He talks about new theories and possibilities, his hands in the air with a flourish that makes Guanlin feels vaguely less like the oddball he  _ is _ . 

 

Minhyun wipes away his snot with a magicked handkerchief and then promptly vanishes it with a wandless wave. Guanlin stares, enthralled.

 

“Ah, that? You’ll learn it one day too,” Minhyun winks, smiling.

 

Guanlin thinks Minhyun is the coolest ever, and babbles his thanks to Minhyun as the elder boy guides him back to his compartment. 

 

He already feels better by heaps, and by the time the train rolls to a stop in front of the castle, most of his fear and nervousness have been replaced by a feeling of wonderment and awe. He bumps into Minhyun again as they get off the train, this time with a tall and pretty girl -- another Ravenclaw prefect, he notes, glancing at the shiny golden badge pinned to her chest. It’s the girl who guides them into the little boats to cross the lake. Guanlin is a little disappointed it’s not Minhyun, but Minhyun waves at Guanlin with a grin, cheering him on as the girl-prefect tries to herd the bunch of them forwards.

 

Guanlin thinks he might want to be someone like Minhyun one day.

 

“Isn’t he  _ cool _ !” He bursts out. Seonho laughs, practically dragging him to sit beside him before the enchanted boats move off.

 

Minhyun’s form gets smaller and smaller in the distance, the dark greys of their school robes blending in together, fading to black. The foggy night coaleses in his vision until all he can see are the bright shiny lights of Hogwarts in the distance. This is it, he thinks, staring up at the castle, it’s turrets and old brick walls massive in view. The place reeks of history; great people have walked here, he thinks, and so much magic in store to discover and learn. One day, he’ll learn it all. 

 

A new adventure awaits him, and Guanlin cannot wait to begin.

 


	2. make haste not speed

_June, 2010_  

Minhyun wakes to the sound of Jaehwan’s maniacal laughter. 

 

His face is pressed haphazardly against Lukas Karuzos’ New Theory of Numerology, his Arithmancy notes sprawled out in the middle of the common room. There’s a momentary panic as the last vestiges of sleep clear out from his brain before he realises that O.W.Ls don’t start till next week. 

 

He blinks at his surroundings, trying to orientate himself, and then frowns. There’s a smidge of drool on the parchment he’d been scrawling down notes on (Thank Merlin for foresight, at least the ink is spelled waterproof), and the last 2 inches of text is barely legible. He stares at the offending sheet with dismay, fishing his wand out to spell away the drool marks and trying to decipher his own sleepy, chicken-scratch handwriting.

 

Jaehwan screeches again, that horrible laughter of his that makes Minhyun want to tear his ears out. 

 

“Jaehwan it’s  _ way  _ too early in the morning and you just woke me up, I have drool on my face so can you  _ not _ .”

 

Jaehwan laughs again, looking half mad with his hair practically standing on end and eyes bloodshot and lined with dark circles. The sleeve of his shirt is stained with blue ink, and his tie is lopsided and askew, carelessly loosened at the neck. Minhyun’s owl, Faron, is perched precariously on the side of a stack of sheets, carefully sidestepping Jaehwan’s frantically moving hand and flourishing quill. Jaehwan had probably taken him out of his cage and forgotten to return him  _ again _ . 

 

Theorems always seemed to make Jaehwan’s head spin in more ways than one. Minhyun sighs, and with all the aim of a seasoned chaser, tosses his Arithmancy text right at Jaehwan’s head. Jaehwan rubs the back of his head, eyebrows furrowed, before he grabs a nearby cushion and tosses it back at Minhyun, missing by far.

 

“Well, I finally figured out Dvorak’s musical theorum,” Jaehwan still looks like a complete psychopath, his voice shrill, “spent all night trying to understand what was wrong but really, I can’t believe I forgot the 2 over there at the start. And i had to rework everything!” There’s a sob somewhere in the sentence, tagged on the muffled end of the statement as Jaehwan faceplants into his notes. 

 

“The question is, do you all even sleep?”

 

It’s another voice this time; Minhyun turns to find Seongwoo sitting, legs propped up against the table, sipping on a goblet of pumpkin juice as he flips through the morning Prophet. There’s not a hair out of place on his head, and the green of his tie is stark against the sapphire blue drapery, and Minhyun groans. Kenta is going to  _ kill _ them if he sees that Seongwoo has broken into their common room  _ again _ ; it’s not as if they actually let him in. The bastard has no problem figuring out the riddle on the way in -- not that either of them would ever admit that aloud, house pride be damned.

 

“If you’re here to gloat about being done with studying, the exit is that way,” Jaehwan gestures vaguely with a flourish, face still buried in his notes.

 

“Nah,” He snorts, unfolding his legs to stretch out on the little loveseat. “Jonghyun sends his regards by the way, he was wondering if both of you had died in your sleep last night when he didn’t see you at lunch.

 

Minhyun frowns, then springs up with a start.

 

“Lunch! _ ” _

 

He smacks his head hard with his palm. Of course.

 

A quick  _ tempus  _ proves that Seongwoo isn’t shitting with them this time. It’s three past  _ noon _ and it suddenly makes sense why the common room had been this empty. They had potions this morning that they’ve already missed and O.W.Ls is in a week. A  _ week _ ! Professor Seokhoon might have gone through something really important and Minhyun sort of really wants to murder Jaehwan for not waking him up earlier. His  _ prefect badge _ , Merlin, they were going to get  _ expelled _ . He has approximately six minutes to get them to Transfiguration at the opposite end of the castle, and 

 

“Jaehwan, Jaehwan, quick up, up, up,” he tugs hard at the collar of Jaehwan’s robes. Faron squawks, making a hasty retreat towards Seongwoo as the papers he’d been perched on begin zooming towards Minhyun’s open rucksack. Seongwoo laughs, Jaehwan trips and painfully bumps into Minhyun’s chin as Minhyun yells bloody murder while simultaneously shoving Jaehwan out the door. 

 

Minhyun thinks his lungs are going to pop right out of his chest from running, but at least they manage to make it with half a minute to spare. Professor Kahi enters a moment later, shooting them both a look of dismay at their disheveled appearances. She instructs them to take their books and wands out and the class begins. 

 

All is well, until Minhyun posthumously realises those are  _ Arithmancy  _ notes he’s packed in his hurry to get out the common room. Professor Kahi’s eyes narrow dangerously at him when he excuses himself to retrieve the right set of notes and there is nothing more that Minhyun wants than for the ground to swallow him up.


	3. quidditch (of bets and blow-outs) - part i

_January, 2012_  

Since the beginning of time, Quidditch season at Hogwarts has always been the stuff of legends. Jaehwan learns this in his first year, when the day of the first quidditch match dawns with normally calm, sensible Minhyun rabidly waving the blue and bronze flag in the stands like a loon, an unhappy Jaehwan in tow, shouting his lungs out at the rush of broomsticks that pass him by. 

 

Jaehwan has never really liked quidditch (or any sport at all, really, and Quidditch really is a fool’s sport), but by the third match Minhyun drags him to that year, Jaehwan resigns himself to its existence as part and parcel of his student years at Hogwarts. He ends up goes to every match with Minhyun, because Minhyun is his  _ best _ (read: only) friend, even if he has to make sure to bring a book to read just in case he gets bored. When Minhyun makes the Ravenclaw team as chaser in third year, he ends up on the bleachers, book in tow, as he waits for practices to end. For his efforts as Best Friend Ever, Minhyun loans him a copy of Quidditch through the ages over Christmas, and by the time break is over, he’s memorized all the rule sets, game plays and formation changes. (Quidditch, in theory,  _ is _ fun, even if he’ll rather die than admit that aloud.) When cousin Sewoon makes team keeper the year after, he’s cajoled by Minhyun into taking over Sewoon’s burgeoning clientele of bettors. 

 

When he makes three hundred galleons the first match when Hufflepuff and Slytherin draw, he becomes from there on forth, Hogwarts’ official bookmaker™ and never looks back. The rest is pretty much history.

 

This particular Sunday is a busy one. Jaehwan has perched himself on the common room table, quick quotes quill at the ready as the lower years file in. He’s got himself an apprentice this year: ickle second year Eric Lee sorts out the sickles, knuts and galleons into neat piles as Jaehwan supervises. There’s a charm he usually uses for this, but little Eric is eager and Jaehwan needs a successor  _ eventually _ so Eric stays anyway, meticulously counting the pieces that his clients leave behind.

 

The stack of golden galleons is larger than usual this time; the upcoming Gryffindor versus Slytherin match is highly anticipated. It’s bigger than the usual house rivalry between the house of lions and the snakepit. It’s quidditch, and it’s also  _ personal _ .

 

The Hogwarts rumour mill has been abuzz the last two weeks about the now legendary spat between Slytherin captain Ong Seongwoo and Gryffindor captain Kang Daniel. 

 

In most ordinary situations, it wouldn’t have been too surprising. After all, the snakes and lions were never known to get along. But Seongwoo and Daniel had struck up an unlikely friendship in Seongwoo’s third year and Daniel’s second. They were both fiercely competitive on the field, sure, but the rival team seekers had always practiced together, and were pretty much joined at the hip off the field. They worked well together too, always in some kind of uncanny tandem and synchrony, and despite Daniel’s tendency for rash words and Seongwoo’s known acid tongue, they never argued or seemed to disagree with one another. At least, not until their Big Quidditch Blow-Out two weeks ago.

 

It begins like this really, with Daniel lying listlessly on his broom as Seongwoo flew circles about him. They were chatting idly, seemingly at nothing in particular. Daniel laughed a bit at something Seongwoo had said, speeding off for Seongwoo to chase after him.

 

Both had, on first glance, seemed in good spirits when they’d touched down after their run. But a closer look had revealed something tense about them. The inches between them was carefully maintained, the line of their shoulders taut. Daniel was smiling still, but the look on his face was unsure and faltering, the corners of his lips quickly sliding downward. In an attempt to ease the tension, had tried to lop his hand over the elder boy’s shoulders to ease the tension, but Seongwoo had frowned, shrugging off the arm like deadweight, and Daniel had recoiled as if stung. 

 

Things had turned ugly fast after that. Seongwoo had walked away, keen to avoid an argument, but then Daniel had yelled something unintelligible, and Seongwoo had turned around, wand digging into the flesh of Daniel’s chin before he blazed off the field in an uncharacteristic fury. Daniel had blasted a quaffle to smithereens before taking off in the opposite direction. 

 

Quite the show indeed. Minhyun had watched from the stands, gobsmacked, mouth open so wide in horror Jaehwan had to spell it shut just in case. 

 

The gravity of the situation had only dawned on Jaehwan rather belatedly, with Minhyun’s vice-like grip closed in on his wrist and Jaehwan halfway to the Slytherin dormitories and gasping for air. Minhyun had spent five minutes arguing with the portrait before he gave up, and made for the Gryffindor dorms after that with just as little luck.

 

(Jaehwan’s lungs have not recovered from the episode)

 

They’d finally spotted Seongwoo holed away in the library after dinner. Minhyun was quick to shush him as they holed behind a shelf, spying on their target. But Seongwoo’s eyes were red, his hair flat and messy. He stared out the window, eyes empty and sad, hands worrying at the edge of a page of a book, knuckles white. There was something panicked about him, like a lost child trying to find his bearings. 

 

Jaehwan had balked at the sight of  _ tears _ , suddenly feeling like a huge creep even as Minhyun pressed his head closer for a better look. He’d wanted to turn and ask Minhyun  _ maybe we should leave _ , but Minhyun turned, tripping on a bookcase and bringing Jaehwan down with him. Seongwoo sprung up, a look of alarm on his face before he’d snapped his book shut and ran. He’d taken to the dungeons like a bat after that, dodging all human contact. 

 

Daniel was no better. He’d taken to seating himself with an obnoxiously large bunch of people every dinner. He laughed louder than ever and made merry, even if everyone could tell he was absolutely  _ miserable _ . He was defensive too, flushing puce red and essentially telling everyone to  _ fuck off  _ in more or less words every time they would ask. By the third time, Minhyun tears his hair out and gives up. 

 

Still, as horrible as it is that two of his friends are arguing, it does make for pretty good business for Jaehwan. He eyes the growing tally at the end of the piece of parchment as Professor BoA drops a couple of galleons on Slytherin for the win. (Hyunbin pauses in front of him, calling him despicable for “profiting off other’s misfortune” as he surreptitiously drops a knut into the pile for Slytherin. Kim Sejeong spots him, and frowns so hard at him until he switches for Gryffindor instead.)

 

By the time Jaehwan closes shop at dinner time, there are seven-hundred-twenty galleons, eighty-three knuts and seventeen sickles laid out in front of him. Little Eric groups them into tens for easy counting and only leaves when Jaehwan promises a ten percent cut of the profit. Minhyun plonks himself in the couch across him, vaguely perturbed by the sheer human interest in their friends’ private lives. 

 

“If only money would solve everything,” He sniffs, looking Jaehwan dead in the eye as he pockets a single galleon. 

 

“Money or no money, they’ll be  _ fine _ .”

 

Minhyun looks at Jaehwan with great skepticism.

 

He shrugs. It’s clear as day that the two of his friends care a great deal about each other. He stares at Minhyun and recalls the number of times they’ve fought in the past, or the number of times he’s had to put up with Minhyun being  _ Minhyun _ . He winces as Minhyun’s long legs accidentally knock over a stack of neatly piled coins, looking sheepish. 

 

He’d be long rid of the elder boy if it weren’t for the fact that they were both hopeless without each other. That, and the fact that he was so hopelessly  _ fond _ .

 

Jaehwan sighs. 

 

They’d figure things out...eventually. 


	4. quidditch (pass the quaffle please) - part ii

_ January, 2012 _

Jaehwan wakes up early on a Friday morning. 

 

His dreams have been plagued with a series of nightmares on the upcoming match all week long. Each dream was about as bizarre as they were terrifying -- in one, the snitch had taken life, eating at the hems of both players’ robes, leaving them bloody and limbless; in the second, the earth had basked in an Avada Kedavra green, as stray killing curses hurtled towards them from the end of stray wand; in the third, the clouds had roiled, gray and stormy, the sky had opened up and swallowed Daniel, and lightning had came like a bolt, frying Seongwoo to bits.

 

Jaehwan had woken up in a shower of cold sweat and confusion. For posterity’s sake, he would nick Minhyun’s divination text book from third year to read that one chapter on interpreting dreams. The predictions had been dismaying, to say the least, and Jaehwan had stared up at his ceiling until the day broke and Minhyun had woken him up for class. 

 

Minhyun says that divination is ‘sort of Stupid’, but nevertheless, he makes sure to check the weather forecast off the Daily Prophet for good measure. 

 

Thank Merlin that Friday’s sky is a crisp blue and cloudless. Jaehwan sips his pumpkin juice with a side of the cream pastries that Minhyun’s parents had sent from where they were vacationing in France. Little Eric is early too, having shut his morning textbook in favor of reciting out the odds and bets for the upcoming match. And then after that, they sit in relative silence until Minhyun pops around when he wakes up. 

 

“Any luck on our two boys making up yet?” Minhyun asks over a mouthful of pastry. 

 

Little Eric shakes his head. Minhyun’s eyes narrow accusingly at the new addition to their table and then he snickers, snidely remarking that Jaehwan has gotten  _ soft.  _ Jaehwan shrugs, pointedly staring back at the two small firsties gathering and clambering all around Minhyun. Minhyun groans.

 

Jaehwan is familiar with Guanlin; the first year Ravenclaw had clung to Minhyun for the entire of his first month, before jumping ship -- he’d taken to dubbing Seongwoo his  _ favorite _ , and Minhyun had been annoyed. Guanlin still sat with them often to do his homework though, and Minhyun was still a much better teacher than Seongwoo could ever dream of being. He’s got a friend with him today though, a rather excitable Hufflepuff, who spends all morning chasing the hem of Minhyun’s robe, much to Minhyun’s increasing distress and Jaehwan’s amusement. 

 

In the meantime, Guanlin unabashedly helps himself to one of Minhyun’s cream pastries, seating himself beside Jaehwan. Like Jaehwan, Guanlin isn’t the fondest of Quidditch. But his favorite Seongwoo is playing today, and Guanlin had been rather concerned at the spat and Seongwoo’s absence at the Ravenclaw common room most nights, (He isn’t the fondest of Daniel and makes it a point to let Jaehwan know. Twice.) so he tags along when they trudge down to the stands, Eric and Guanlin’s Hufflepuff friend, Seonho, in tow. 

 

The place is unusually packed today; where there are usually only two houses and a couple of stragglers, it seems almost as if the entire population of staff and students have turned up today. Jaehwan frowns, wading through the crowd. (He accidentally steps on one too many feet and nearly gets hexed by a couple of angry Slytherin girls for _ ruining their shoes _ . Minhyun flashes them his best smile and apologises profusely, and the kids have way too much fun laughing at him.)

 

The kids find a spot not too far off the center of the field, and they plonk down, a smidge of mostly blue in a sea of green. There’s a trio of Hufflepuff third years beside them, tittering away noisily, and Jaehwan has half a mind to ask them to move away, but he recognises Hyeongseop, Eric’s cousin, who is waving at them like a madman. There’s also Woojin, one of the new Hufflepuff chasers, who offers to share their snacks with Seonho (and Seonho eats everything within a mile’s radius), so they get to stay.

 

“You guys know Seongwoo?” pipes their third, a long-necked boy Jaehwan hasn’t seen before. Woojin and Hyeongseop round in, asking for autographs. Minhyun laughs in assent, remarking on Seongwoo’s  _ devastating good looks _ and Jaehwan wants to strangle something, possibly Minhyun himself.

 

(Not that Jaehwan could deny that Seongwoo  _ is  _ devastatingly good-looking. He’s always had plenty of male admirers, little fanboys who looked up to him, and his group of friends was not unknown to most. It wouldn’t be the first time Jaehwan has been stopped by some kid to ask for Seongwoo’s autograph or a picture or something.)

 

Jaehwan has half a mind to tell the ‘Puffs to bugger off, but Guanlin does it for him, hushing them just the Gryffindor team whizzes off into the skies for their final warm-up. 

 

It’s Doyeon he spots first, long hair whipping about her face as she shoots into the sky. Chungha and Eunwoo race off after her, the girl trio of Chasers making speedy loops in the air in quick succession. They get into places, but Daniel is conspicuously absent, even when the team’s beaters and keeper join the three in practicing formations.

 

Jaehwan picks up Minhyun’s omnioculars, scouring the snow-covered field for Daniel, only to spot him chasing after Seongwoo like an unwanted puppy. They’re speaking in low tones, Daniel’s hand clasped tight against the elder boy’s arm. Seongwoo’s expression is hard, but there’s a trace of hesitancy in the crease of his brow. Jaehwan thinks he might give in, but Coach Jaesung calls for places, voice amplified loud from across the field, and Seongwoo takes off after the Slytherin team, leaving Daniel behind to scramble for his broom and get into position. 

 

The match begins promptly, each sides’ keepers valiantly defending their goals. Jihoon scores the first goal for Slytherin when Hwanwoong lets one slip, but Doyeon hits back one for one, and the scores climb quickly  _ 10-10, 60-40, 130-150.  _ It’s clear that the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams are pretty evenly matched -- the scores turn tides every few goals, each team giving as good as they get. Gryffindor leads for a whole half an hour, their chasers quick to widen their lead. But Slytherin catches up swiftly as the Gryffindor keeper begins to flag, and the game is back to square one.

 

Jaehwan is sure, at this point, that whoever catches the snitch will win the game. The elusive snitch is nowhere to be found; Seongwoo and Daniel watch each other from the outskirts of the field, ready to move. There are a few false alarms: Daniel taking off across the field to chase after a glimpse of the flutter of golden wings, Seongwoo in hot pursuit; and then, Seongwoo speeding across, narrowly dodging a bludger to lose both Daniel and the snitch in the process.

 

But in the third hour, just as Minhyun rips into their last remaining Pumpkin Pastie, Jaehwan spots the little snitch fluttering in front of him, just out of reach, before it ducks out of sight. But Jaehwan isn’t the only one who spots the snitch. 

 

Seongwoo’s eyebrow furrow subtly, grip on his broom tightening ever so slightly. He lounges, seemingly relaxed as he leans forwards to inch closer to the snitch. But Daniel is all too familiar with the Slytherin seeker’s tricks, and his eyes follow his movements, broom poised for take off. The faint glimmer of gold in the sun catches Daniel’s eye --

 

The two seekers dive downwards, bodies tight against their brooms for more speed, more power. Daniel is nearer, but Seongwoo is leaner, faster on his broom, rapidly closing in until they’re inches apart. The ground grows closer, looming large. They have to pull out of the turn soon or risk crashing, but Seongwoo and Daniel are neck and neck, neither willing to give in. 

 

Seongwoo makes a split second decision, pulling out of the turn; but Daniel is distracted, fingers reaching out, close enough to touch the snitch --

 

But he’s too close. He loses balance, keening forwards, rolling off his broom altogether. His shoulder makes contact with the ground in a sickening crunch of bone against ice; the snitch is golden in his palm, fluttering weakly as he lays, unmoving in the snow.

 

There’s a collective silence in the stadium, as they wait for  _ something, anything _ . 

 

“Is he  _ dead _ ?” Seonho asks aloud, and the Slytherins around them shoot daggers out their eyes at them until Guanlin hastily shushes him and Jaehwan goes back to observing the scene through Minhyun’s omniculars.

 

Seongwoo dismounts quickly, a myriad of emotions on his face ( _ guilt, anguish, fear _ ) as he rushes to the younger boy. He moves carefully, gently, with trembling hands to touch Daniel’s still form. He brushes away the fallen strands of dirty blonde hair off the side of his face, and beneath tender hands, Daniel stirs slightly, groaning. 

 

Relief washes over Seongwoo, and Daniel coughs, a small grin on his face as he lifts the snitch to the audience. The crowd erupts into cheers...which rapidly turn into wolf-whistles when Seongwoo bends down to capture Daniel’s lips with his own.. 

 

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

 

Daniel responds with fervour, good arm snaking around Seongwoo’s neck to pull him in deeper. It’s a long kiss, and they don’t come up for air until Coach Jaesung clears his throat and calls for the Daniel to be seen by the mediwitch. By this time, both teams have gathered around their captains, house rivalries forgotten for once as they begin their barrage of questions. Seongwoo, suddenly aware of what he’s just done, turns a beet red down to the roots of his hairs, none of his usual composure as he hides his face in his hands and tries to exit the crowd that have gathered around him.

 

Whatever way most people had expected their Big Quidditch Blow-Out to conclude,  _ this _ certainly hadn’t been it. Not that Jaehwan minds; he whoops in glee from his spot in the stands, shoving the omnioculars into Minhyun’s face for a better look because  _ finally _ . 

 

Minhyun stares, head darting from Jaehwan back to the scene in front of them, mouth opening and closing like a particularly offensive species of carp. 

 

“How,  _ when? _ ” He sputters, and Jaehwan takes pride that despite Minhyun being one of their best in class, he’s as sharp as a sack of wet leather when it comes to the emotional side of things. Jaehwan shrugs, laughing as Guanlin hands over a dozen silver sickles with a sour expression (The kid should have known better than to bet against Jaehwan over Seongwoo and Daniel.). Really, If one had only bothered to notice, it had always been clear as day how much the two were in love with each other; Jaehwan sighs, and thinks it's really just  _ cute _ .

 

(He’ll regret thinking that later, when Daniel has been released from the hospital wing and Seongwoo and Daniel make blatant cow eyes at each other all day, canoodling on every single surface possible. By the time he catches them in some sort of compromising position for the third time in a single day, Jaehwan is  _ done _ .)


	5. ruminations from the snake pit

_ January, 2012 _

Jihoon’s eyes snap open when the door slams open, hastily wiping away the last remnants of drool from his face just as Seongwoo sweeps right through the common room and up the stairs. There’s the clatter of footsteps that that follows, unintelligible yells through the doorway in a voice that sounds a lot like the sixth-year Ravenclaw prefect Hwang Minhyun as the door shuts. 

 

Seongwoo had been closed off of late, his expressions shuttered; there was a coldness to him that was seldom seen, a quiet danger that reminded Jihoon starkly of why, in spite of all appearances, Ong Seongwoo remained one of Slytherin’s most influential persons over the years, and why the upper years had oft warned not to get into Seongwoo’s bad books. Jihoon was lucky to have Seongwoo’s company and hand of friendship when he’d joined the quidditch team last year; there were few half bloods here, but being in with Ong Seongwoo was a quick ticket to success in the house of snakes, and but for a few barbs, Jihoon had been fortunate. 

 

Yet in spite of that tentative friendship, Seongwoo remained much of a mystery. He was charismatic, charming and unfailingly polite, friendly, with an ever present smile on his lips, but he was also quiet, pensive, eyes sharp and keen and observing. Jihoon remembers what had happened to Ha Minho at the start of the semester, and the way Seongwoo had torn him down to pieces and tries not to shudder. 

 

For the most part though, Seongwoo was content in keeping to his own elite, pureblood circle of friends: first, there was Hwang Minhyun, who Jihoon had glimpsed yelling earlier like a barbarian, part of the sacred twenty-eight families and just as wealthy and powerful as Seongwoo’s own. There was Kim Jonghyun, small and slight, the current Hufflepuff head boy who could only be bound for great things, and Kwon Hyunbin, tall and gangly and long and very good-looking, his father touted to be the next Minister of Magic. Kim Jaehwan, a little eccentric, but sharp as a tack, and despite his robes of blue and bronze, was more Slytherin than the best of them. 

 

Then, there was Daniel. There were few privy to Seongwoo’s secrets and thoughts, but for the almost exclusive exception of Kang Daniel. Jihoon thought very little of Daniel, the overgrown puppy that latched onto Seongwoo like a particular species of barnacle, and had, in days past, wondered how the two were friends. (The rumor mill had speculated that it had to do with that all american flair, Daniel’s parents well-known diplomats to MACUSA, and the fact that Seongwoo probably harbored secret aspirations of entering politics) Jihoon wasn’t one to buy into rumours; it was clear that Seongwoo adored Daniel in every possible way, and held his opinion and friendship in high regard. Jihoon remembers wryly that one time someone had  _ accidentally  _ complemented Daniel’s skills in the middle of quidditch practice, and Seongwoo’s whole face had lit up with a smile so wide, Jihoon thought his jaw might have dislocated itself in the process. Minki had all but snorted and smacked Seongwoo hard on the back and told him to  _ get his shit together _ .

 

The past week had proved tortuous to watch, and watched Jihoon did, for it was a spectacular thing, seeing the small cracks in Seongwoo that had unravelled slowly, like the strings of a tapestry, hands clenching and unclenching as he walked, eyes tired and red. Daniel had been conspicuously absent for the better part of this week; it was no secret that they’d fought, and very publicly at that. Jihoon had spotted the Gryffindor lurking outside the dungeons on one too many nights, waiting for Seongwoo, tugging him away by the sleeve of his robes to speak in quiet, hushed tones before the older boy turned his face away, lips pursed as he stalked away into the night.

 

And there was Daniel again; Jihoon can see him stooped outside the entryway in a sliver of light, shuffling his feet as a bunch of second year girls let the portrait door slide open. They were staring him down as they went, but Daniel, desperate, pushes past the portrait door and into the common room like a storm. He swivels on his feet, and then perhaps recognising Jihoon from their games together, stares at him and demands  _ where’s Seongwoo _ .

 

Jihoon frowns. How  _ rude. _ To think he’d thought of helping him get Seongwoo just a few moments ago (no, not really). 

 

“What business is it to you where Seongwoo is?” Jihoon smiles tightly, making sure to show all his teeth, voice as businesslike as possible, “and most of all, what is it to  _ me _ that you’re searching for Seongwoo?”

 

And really, Jihoon wants to  _ know _ . He’s never thought himself as a gossip rag, and for the first time in his life, he’s wondering if Eunki was right that Minki is the devil reincarnated, and if his odd ramblings and raised eyebrows are rubbing off on him because Jihoon wants to  _ know.  _ They’re relationship has always been a little  _ intense, _ and Jihoon, watching them, is often struck by the way their bodies are always moving in orbit of one another, hands chasing, and heads turning in closed whispers too quiet for the world to hear. (Not that Jihoon will ever admit that he had followed them, and then been stowed away in a corner of the Room of Requirement for a whole three hours, covered conveniently by an invisibility cloak and extendable ears in tow)

 

There are no friends in Slytherin, not really, not in the conventional sense at least. Instead, there are allies and alliances, an intricate spider web of power. There were people who Jihoon could trust, few as they were, but they were companions seeking a common goal; Seongwoo is more of a mentor than a friend to Jihoon really, but even despite his lack of insight on the nuances of that emotion, surely, he thinks, now squinting hard at Daniel, feet tapping nervously, eyes searching as if for a glimmer of Seongwoo’s lanky frame, that there must be more than mere friendship to these two.

 

Jihoon softens, just a tad, deigning to fraternise with the enemy not for Daniel’s sake, but their poor oblivious captain, and then  _ sighs _ . 

 

“He’s upstairs, second room to the right. Minki’s room.”

 

Daniel startles, and then, with a weak grin, he nods back at Jihoon and takes off upstairs --

 

“Kang Daniel! Do both yourselves a favor and tell him you love him. Seongwoo has been  _ miserable _ . Just...just do yourselves both a favor and tell him you love him. That often works a lot better than whatever the hell you’ve both been doing.”

 

Daniel softens, smiling a little wider, if a little sadder, and shakes his head. And Jihoon frowns as Daniel waves him off, padding into the doorway. 

 

The poor fools.

 

(Jihoon closes his book. He’s slept away most of the morning anyway, and he figures it might just be the time for him to take a stroll by the lake; he hears the weather is good this time of the year.)

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small snippet. Introducing Jihoon, our narrator for this chapter, a little bit of background on our main characters and a look into Slytherin's dynamics. For a bit more clarity: Jihoon's a third year here, Daniel are fifth and Seongwoo is in sixth. 
> 
> Sorry I've been MIA for so long, I've been caught up with real life/finishing other works and this just got neglected :( I'll try to post more often in the future! As always, any questions in the comments or at my cc!

**Author's Note:**

> fic related asks at: [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/doxies)  
> or tweet me at: [twitter @who_sthatboi](https://twitter.com/who_sthatboi)
> 
> i'll try to answer them and i'm sorry if things are a bit confusing now. i promise it'll get more clear later on!
> 
> (also yes I changed my penname for consistency!)


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